paint the grass green | tom holland

Chapter Six

"Do you guys need any help?" You enter the kitchen where Nikki and Sam are currently working on dinner. Theo was currently playing board games with Dom, Paddy, Harry and Tom and you wanted to give them a little bonding time, so you're hoping to making yourself useful. You had been at the Holland's house for a couple hours now and it was a lot more relaxed compared to the last time. Even though there was still some kind of tension in the air.

"You can cut the vegetables if you want." Nikki says and puts some mushrooms and tomatoes on the counter beside her before handing you a cutting mat and knife.

"Any particular way I should cut them?"

"You can dice the tomatoes and cut the mushrooms into slices." Sam says without looking at you. You don't know why, but Sam still hasn't warmed up to you. He barley makes eye contact and when you try to initiate a conversation he's quick to come up with an excuse to leave. When you handed him and Harry your birthday present (it was just a card with some money because Tom's invitation was quite last minute) he forced a smile and pressed out a 'thanks' while Harry gave you a hug.

The three of you worked side by side for a few minutes before Nikki spoke up.

"You know, Y/N. I thought a lot about what I said to you." She starts and you press your lips together, preparing yourself for the inevitable, sure that she was going to say something else you were going to ponder over for the next week. "And I wanted to apologise again. I realised that my words were pretty harsh and that wasn't my intention at all." She looks at you with a smile that showed that she really was sorry.

You're taken aback by her apology. You don't know what to say, but you don't have to say anything because Nikki continues "Yes, I want him to be part of our family and I want him to know that he is one of us." She pauses and thinks for a moment. "And I want you to know that you're a part of our family now, too. You can always count on us as much as Theo can. No matter what it is, if you need anything let us know." You're completely flabbergasted now. You can only stare at her as you feel tears stinging your eyes. By the tone of her voice you can tell that she's not just saying that. She means it.

"Thank you, Nikki." Your voice is shaky and Nikki's eyes soften.

"Of course, Darling. Come here." She comes over to you with open arms and pulls you into a hug. You just so manage to put down the knife so you don't hurt her, then you're wrapped up in her arms and for a few seconds you don't know what to do. Then you wind your arms around her frame. You close your eyes for a moment to keep the tears at bay and when you open them again Sam is looking at you with a look on his face you can't decipher. His eyebrows are pulled together and he almost looks annoyed. You'll have to talk to him later.

"What's going on here?" Tom's voice pulls you out of your thoughts. You pull away from the hug and turn around to look at Tom.

"Mum, what did you do?" He questions when he sees your watery eyes.

"We just had a little, heart to heart between mothers." Nikki explains and winks at you. You feel your cheeks heat up. To distract yourself you get back to the task of cutting the tomatoes.

You hear Tom stepping closer, then you feel his body heat right behind you.

"Ooh, tomatoes." He leans over your shoulder and while he reaches for a bit of tomato you've already diced, he places his other hand on the small of your back. It feels like his touch is burning through the fabric of your shirt and goosebumps start to cover your arms. You have to put down the knife again as to not cut your own fingers. He reaches for another piece of tomato but this time you slap his hand away.